Connector

ABSTRACT

A means for attaching one member to another to prevent racking or twisting of the members. It includes a connector which attaches to one member and has a key which fits into a groove in the other member. Several modifications are shown. In one the connector clamps to the first member. In another, both members have grooves which are angularly displaced and the connector has keys which fit into both grooves. A light standard is illustrated. The groove is in the horizontal crossarm and is used to conceal the wire from the pole to the luminaire. The key may be channel-shaped to provide access into the groove for the wire.

[ Dec. 11, 1973 CONNECTOR [75] Inventors: Robert W. Selden; Edward W.

' Schein, both of Seattle, Wash.

[73] Assignee: Weyerhaeuser Company, Tacoma,

Wash.

[22] Filed: Apr. 26, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 137,382

[52] [1.5. ....s2 753 C, 52/760 51 int. Cl. Fl6b 7/04 58 Field of Search287/2092 1120.92 Y,

287/2092 L, 20.92 R, 189.36 C, 189.36 D, 189.36 F, 189.36 H, 189.35, 54A, 54 C; 52/656, 665, 721, 220, 221,649; 248/221, 223, 300; 240/9 R, 73R, 73 BA [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,990,234 2/1935Kemper 24/126 A 2,052,012 8/1936. Beghetti 24/126 A 2,562,483 7/1951Bender 287/2092 G 2,632,780 3/1953 Whitehouse 24/l26.l 2,762,091 9/1956.lenne 287/2092 L 3,167,842 2/1965 Pauli 249/46 3,231,945 2/1966 Milleret al 287/2092 L 3,318,561 5/1967 Finke et al. 287/l89.36 C X 3,420,5571/1969 Francis et al. 287/56 X Primary ExaminerJordan Franklin AssistantExaminer-Wayne L. Shedd Attorney-Patrick D. Coogan, John M. Crawford,Stuart A. Heller and Bryan C. Ogden [57] ABSTRACT A means for attachingone member to another to prevent racking or twisting of the members. Itincludes a connector which attaches to one member and has a key whichfits into a groove in the other member. Several modifications are shown.In one the connector clamps to the first member. In another, bothmembers have grooves which are angularly displaced and the connector haskeys which fit into both grooves. A light standard is illustrated. Thegroove is in the horizontal crossarm and is used to conceal the wirefrom the pole to the luminaire. The key may be channel-shaped to provideaccess into the groove for the wire.

7 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures PAIENTEUMB 1 1 ms 33771434 sum 1 or 1 VENTOFOEERT M SELDEN I? M E/N RNE PATENTEBBEC 1 1 ms SHEEE 3 UP 7 //Vl/ENTOPS,

ROBERT M SELDEN EDMAD M SCHE/N Z TQPNE Z5 PAIENIEUUEB 1 1 m5 SHEET 5 OF7 M/VENTOFS, ROBE/n 7 14/. fDIA/A SELDEN 015/ I PMENIED DEC H i975 SHEET7 BF 7 mi \N NQ QN Q R w mr MW MM w W55 E g w mm w @w .m TD? m mm PM .4T V Maw m F 00 1% f Q NW xmw 5 NN\ CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention A connector structure for attachingmembers, the overall structure formed by such attachment and,particularly, a light standard having such an attachment.

2. Description of the Prior Art Typically, structural members areattached by bolts and nails. However, in power lines the crossarms aresubject to twisting or racking in high winds.

Other systemsfor connecting members are shown in Jennings US. Pat. No.3,153,299 issued Oct. 20, I964; Brann US Pat. No. 3,167,609 issued Jan.26, I965; Thom US. Pat. No. 3,352,541 issued Nov. 14, 1967; and DemersU.'S. Pat. No. 3,423,899 issued .Ian. 28, 1969. Each of these patentsdiscloses the interlocking of structural components. However, each isrelatively complicated and none has the simplicity or interchangeabilityof the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has a simple methodof attaching angularly displaced members. A connector is attached to theupright or vertical member. The connector may have a key which fits intoa vertical groove in the vertical member. In another modification, theconnector may be clamped around the vertical member.

The connector has a horizontal key which fits into a groove in thehorizontal member. This construction prevents racking and twisting ofthe horizontal member with respect to the vertical member.

This construction may be used for light standards and the groove in thehorizontal member would house the wires for the lights. The keys on theconnector may be U-shaped to allow access of the wire to the groove. Asecond connector is attached to the horizontal members at their outerends and the light or luminaire is attached to this member. Thisconnector also has keys fitting into the grooves in the horizontalmembers.

The construction is simple, uses standard parts, and is easy to use atthe job site. It allows the crossarm to be mounted at any elevation onthe post and provides a wide variety of different structures with theuse of a few simple standard members. It prevents racking and twistingof the crossarms and creates a much sturdier structure because of thegood moment connection between the horizontal crossarms and the verticalpost and, in a light standard, the good moment connection between thelight fixture and the end of the crossarm. This is done without the useof braces or tension members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric exploded viewof a construction showing the invention. FIG. 2 is an isometricpartially exploded view of the construction. Additional elements areshown.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the construction.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the construction.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an isometric partially-exploded view of a second embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partially exploded isometric view of a modified endconstruction.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the lattei modification.

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of another modified end construction.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of this modification.

FIG. 13 is an exploded isometric view of another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an isometric view of the embodiment assemble'd.

FIG. 15 is a partially exploded isometric view of the post and crossarmconnection of FIGS. 13 and 14.

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of the structure of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a partially exploded isometric view of another construction.

FIG. 18 is a top plan view of this construction.

FIG. 19 is a top plan view of a construction using a modified form ofthe connector of FIGS. 17-18.

FIGS. 20-21 are isometric views of two types of plugs.

FIG. 22 shows a cross section showing a modification in the keystructure.

The drawings are fragmentary, exploded or partially exploded andpartially cut away both for convenience of illustration and to showdetails of construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS. 1-16 show light standardsand associated wiring. However, as in FIGS. 17-18, the connectors andstructural elements may have end uses in which wiring is not essential.

In each of the illustrations, a pair of horizontal crossarms 20 areattached to the front and back sides 21 and 22, respectively, of avertical post 23. Each of the arms 20 has an interior lengthwisehorizontal groove or dado cut 24. The front and back faces 21 and 22 ofpost 23 have vertical grooves 25.

A wire 26 extends through the vertical channel 27 in post 23 and exitsfrom one or both side faces 29 and 30 of the post 23 through aperture28. The wire 26 is concealed in one of the grooves 24 between the post23 and the light fixture. It may be held in the groove 24 completelyhidden from view by a cover 31 which fits within the groove 24. Thecover is shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6.

The counter bores 32 of bolt holes 33 in arms 20 are covered with plugs34. These plugs are illustrated schematically in FIGS. 1-5 and 13-14,and two types of plugs are shown in FIGS. 20 and 21. Each type has aface plate 35 and a hollow body 36 formed of a thin wall 37 having anumber of rearwardly extending ribs 38 on its outer periphery. FIG. 20shows the flush mounted type of plug in which the diameters of the faceplate 35 and body 36 are equal, and FIG. 21 shows the exposed type ofplug in which the diameter of the face plate 35 is greater than that ofthe body 36. In both types the wall 37 is thin and rigid but it isresilient enough to conform to the shape of the hole 32.

As can be seen, the posts and crossarms are identical in each of thevarious constructions shown. The difference among the constructions isin th post and end connectors.

In FIGS. 1-5 the post and end connectors are identical. The connector 40has a face plate 41 and a hollow body 42 attached to the face plate. Theface plate 41 of the post connector is attached to the post 23 by screwsor lag bolts 43 and 44 which extend through holes 45 and 46. In the endconnector, these same holes are used as bolt holes for a luminaire. Theface plate 41 has a reinforcement 47 to strengthen the connector in thearea of attachment, and a central aperture 48 for the wire 26.

The body 42 has an upper sloping wall 49 with a central valley 50. Thecentral valley strengthens the connector and allows access to hole 45.Side walls 51 extend downwardly from the upper wall 49 to a levelapproximately that of the central valley 50. A back wall 52 also extendsdownwardly from the upper wall 49 and side keys 53 extend outwardly fromeach of the side walls 51. The side keys 53 comprising an upper flange54, a side wall 55, a lower flange 56 and an inner upwardly extendingreinforcing flange 57 fit into the grooves 24 of the arms 20. The closetolerances between the dimensions of the key 53 and the groove 24 may beavoided in some instances by tapering the upper and lower flanges 54 and56 and the upper and lower faces of the groove 24, and making the groovedeeper thanthe key to seat the key in the groove and to create greatersurface contact between the key and groove. This isshown in FIG. 22. Theforward end of each side key 53 is closed by a side extension 58 on theface plate 41. The back end of the side key 53 is open at 59 to provideaccess from the interior of the key to the groove 24, and allow the wire26 to exit from the body of the connector 40 into the groove. Thisaccess is created by the back wall 52 which extends only between thearms and not into the grooves 24.

The arms 20 are attached to the connectors by bolts 60 which extendthrough the bolt holes 33 in the arms 20 and the bolt holes 61 in theside walls 55. A suitable washer 62 and nut 63 are provided for thisattachment. If desired, the nut 63 may be eliminated by tapping the boltholes 61.

Each of the lower flanges 56 extends inwardly of the arms 20 and istapped for the reception of screws 64 and 65, which attach the baseplate 66 to the body 42. The screws extend through apertures 67 and 68in the base plate. The forward edge of the base plate is cut out at 69for reception of the reinforcement 47. As can be seen, the lower portionof face plate 41 and the lower hole 46are below the base plate 66.

A modified post connector is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. This connector hasa face plate 81 connected to a side face 29 or 30 of the post 23 byscrews 82 and 83. The screws extend through the holes 84 and 85 in theface plate 81. An elongate rectangular tube 86 is attached to the faceplate 81 and has side extensions 87 which fit snugly into the groove 24.The arm 20 is held onto the connector 80 by bolts 88 which thread intothe tapped nuts 89 attached in the ends of the rectangular tube 86. Acentral aperture 90 in the face plate 81 and the side of tube 86, andforward side reliefs 91 in the tube 86 allow the wire 26 to pass fromthe aperture 28 into the groove 24.

FIGS. 9 and 10 disclose an end connector having a top wall 101, a bottomwall 102, side walls 103 and an end wall 104. Outwardly extendinghorizontal channels 105 are attached to the side walls 103 and are sizedto fit snugly into the groove 24. The arms 20 are held against theconnector by the bolt 106. Screws 107 are used to fasten the connector100 to the arms. Suitable holes are provided in the side walls 103 forthis purpose. The wire 26 passes from the groove 24 into the channel105, through the side aperture 108 in the channel and the side wall 103into the body of connector 100, and out through central aperture 109 inface plate 110 of the connector. The face plate 110 and its gasket 111are fastened to connector 100 by screws 112.

FIGS. 11 and 12 disclose a modified end connector having a central body121 and two rectangular tubes 122 attached to side walls 123 of body121. The central body 121 also has a bottom wall 124, a front wall 125and a top wall 126. Side apertures 127 connect the interiors of body 121and rectangular tubes 122. The rectangular tubes 122 are sized to fitsnugly into the grooves 24. The arms 20 are held against the connectorby bolt 128 which extends through the connector, and is fastened bywasher 129 and nut 130. Relief sections 131 in the rear edge of thetubes 122 and the central aperture 132 in the front wall 125 allow thewire 26 to pass from groove 24 to the luminaire through the connector.Bolt holes 133 in the front wall 125 allow attachment of the luminaireto the connector. A cover plate 134 is also provided.

FIGS. 13 and 14 disclose another end connector which is similar to theconnectors shown in FIGS. 1-5. This connector is integral and has afront wall 141, top wall 142, bottom wall 143 and side walls 144. Theside keys 145 extend outwardly from the side walls 144 and have topwalls 146, bottom walls 147 and side walls 148. The front wall of keys145 are covered by extensions 149 of front wall 141. The keys 145 aresized to fit snugly into the groove 24. The rear wall of the key isopen, and the wire 26 extends from the groove 24 into the key 145 andcentral body of connector 140 and out the central aperture 150 in thefront wall 141. Bolt holes 151 allow attachment of the luminaire. Theconnector also has a detachable back plate 152.

The arms 20 are held against the connector 140 by bolt 153, fastened inplace by nut 154 and washer 155. The connector is held against lateralmovement either by attachment to the arms 20 by screws extending throughapertures 156 in the side wall 144 or the bolt 153 passing throughaperture 157 in the key 145.

The FIGS. 13-16 also show a different post connector which attaches tothe front and back faces of the post instead of the side faces. Theconnector 160 has a face plate 161 which is attached to the front orback face of the post 23 by screws 162 extending through apertures 163in the face plate. An outwardly extending vertical channel 164 isattached to the base plate 161 and extends into the groove 25 of thepost 23. An outwardly extending horizontal channel 165 is attached tothe opposite side of the face plate 161 and extends into groove 24. Bothchannels are sized to fit snugly in their respective grooves. Again, thearms 20 are held against the connectors 160 by the bolts 153 and theirassociated washers 154 and nuts 155.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show the wire 26 exiting from aperture 28 into thegroove 24. FIGS. 15 and 16 disclose an alternate method of carrying thewire to groove 24. In this configuration, a central aperture 166 extendsthrough channels 164 and 165 and the face plate 161. An aperture 167extends from the channel 27 to the groove 25. The outwardly extendinglegs of channels 164 and 165 provide passages in grooves 25 and 24. Thewire 26 then passes through the channel 164, the aperture 166 and thechannel 165 into the groove 24.

FIGS. 17 and 18 disclose another post connector. These figuresillustrate a construction connector. However, it may be modified forwiring..The connector 170 is formed of two members 171. Each of thesemembers has a center plate 172 sized to fit face 21 or 22 of post 23, along leg 173 having an inner straight face 174 which fits the side face29 or 30 of the post 23 and an outer tapered face 175, and a short leg176 having an outer straight face 177 and an inner tapered face 178. Asshown in FIG. 18, the long legs 173 fit against the post 23 and theouter tapered face 175 of leg 173 wedges tightly against the innertapered face 178 of leg 176.

A key 179, attached to the outer face of center plate 172, fits snuglywithin groove 24. The arms 20 are held against the connector by bolts180 and their accompanying washers 181 and nuts 182.

If used for wiring, key 179 would be an outwardly extending channel asshown in FIGS. 13-16 and an aperture would be provided through thechannel and center plate 172 so that wire would extend between theaperture 167 shown in FIG. 15 and the groove 24.

FIG. 19 shows a modification of theeonnector of FIGS. 17 and 18. In thismodification the legs are of equal length. One of the legs, 190, has arelieved section 191 in its inner face andthe other leg, 192, has arelieved section 193 in its outer face. The faces of the relievedsections are tapered and wedge together as shown. The other inner facesof the connector are shaped to fit the post 23. v

In some configurations the luminaire is between the cross-arms. The endconnectors are then turned around and the face plates are toward thepost. In this construction the covered ends of the keys are relieved toadmit wire 26.

What is claimed is:

l. A connector for attaching cross-arms to standards or luminaires,allowing the passage of wires from said standards to said luminaires,and reducing the racking of the cross-arms comprising a body defined bya pair of parallel sides, a face plate and an upper wall,

means on said face plate for attaching said body to said standard orluminaire, said face plate defining an opening into said body, a hollowkey extending outwardly of each of said sides, said keys being parallelto each other and transverse to said face plate,

each of said sides and said keys defining an opening between said bodyand said key,

the end of each of said keys opposite said face plate defining anopening extending outwardly of said side,

said openings in said face plate, said sides and said keys allowingpassage of wires through said connector. 4

2. The connector of claim 1 in which said sides are defined by sidewalls and said keys are channels on said side walls.

3. The connector of claim 2 in which said channels extend inwardly withthe legs of said channel members extending toward said side walls.

4. The connector of claim 2 in which said channels extend outwardly withthe legs of said channels extending away from said side walls.

5. The connector of claim 1 in which said body is a rectangular tubularmember having upper, lower, back and front walls and said keys areextensions of said tubular member, and said face plate extends above andbelow said tubular body.

6. The article of claim 1 further comprising a standard attached to saidface plate, and

a pair of cross-arms attached at each of the sides of said connector,said cross-arms having grooves into which said keys fit to reduceracking of said crossarms.

7. The article of claim 6 further comprising a second connector attachedto the cross-arms at their outer ends, the keys of said connectorextending into the grooves in said cross-arms and a luminaire attachedto the back wall of said second connector.

1. A connector for attaching cross-arms to standards or luminaires,allowing the passage of wires from said standards to said luminaires,and reducing the racking of the cross-arms comprising a body defined bya pair of parallel sides, a face plate and an upper wall, means on saidface plate for attaching said body to said standard or luminaire, saidface plate defining an opening into said body, a hollow key extendingoutwardly of each of said sides, said keys being parallel to each otherand transverse to said face plate, each of said sides and said keysdefining an opening between said body and said key, the end of each ofsaid keys opposite said face plate defining an opening extendingoutwardly of said side, said openings in said face plate, said sides andsaid keys allowing passage of wires through said connector.
 2. Theconnector of claim 1 in which said sides are defined by side walls andsaid keys are channels on said side walls.
 3. The connector of claim 2in which said channels extend inwardly with the legs of said channelmembers extending toward said side walls.
 4. The connector of claim 2 inwhich said channels extend outwardly with the legs of said channelsextending away from said side walls.
 5. The connector of claim 1 inwhich said body is a rectangular tubular member having upper, lower,back and front walls and said keys are extensions of said tubularmember, and said face plate extends above and below said tubular body.6. The article of claim 1 further comprising a standard attached to saidface plate, and a pair of cross-arms attached at each of the sides ofsaid connector, said cross-arms having grooves into which said keys fitto reduce racking of said cross-arms.
 7. The article of claim 6 furthercomprising a second connector attached to the cross-arms at their outerends, the keys of said connector extending into the grooves in saidcross-arms and a luminaire attached to the back wall of said secondconnector.